Blind Faith

I’m of two minds about the concept of blind faith.  On the one hand, I’m in favor of it, especially when it’s you trusting fate.

“Faith is taking the first step, even when you don’t see the whole staircase.”
~Martin Luther King Jr.

Yes, it’s nice to know your options and possible outcomes before you make a choice, but there is the tendency to worry about making the wrong choice for too long until you make no choice at all.  Besides, you can never truly know the outcome of things.  Things happen all the time that can cause delays or changes: people get sick, your car doesn’t start, or maybe there’s a problem with your airplane’s engine.

These delays can seem like a set back or a negative thing, at first glance.  But you never know what bigger “tragedy” said set backs might have saved you from.  Or what better outcome they might have steered you to.  I often play the What If game, wondering where my life might be had I turned a different corner, or waited another month for something.  I don’t do it because I regret where I am, but it’s kind of fun to ponder what I might have “missed,” good or bad.

For instance, when I moved out to California, I had given my notice at my job in Chicago a month before I moved out here.  I didn’t have another job lined up out here, and I didn’t have a place to live until a week before I left; and even then, it was just a room in a house that I rented by the week.  Many of my friends thought I was crazy.  Though none of them said those actual words, I heard the tone in their voices whenever they’d tell me ‘good luck.’  You know the tone, it’s the one that basically says “I think you’re gonna fail big and fall flat on your face, but hey it’s not my life, and I’ll try not to say I told you so.”

So when I got out here and found a job within two days of arriving – I’m not kidding, 2 days – they were all flabbergasted.  I signed on with a temp agency on my first morning in town, they called me two hours later with an interview for the next day, and an hour after said interview, I got another call from the temp agency saying that the company was offering me the position.  It was a temp to perm situation that was going to pay me double what I was making in Chicago.  All of that because I followed my gut and didn’t have a plan, but took the leap of faith anyway.  If I’d have waited another month, who knows what would’ve happened.

The problem I have with blind faith is when it’s a request from someone who claims to have your best interest at heart, or claims to be wiser than you are, and so wants you to do whatever they tell you.  When you follow blind faith in those instances, you’re nothing more than a sheep being controlled by someone.  I see this in many organized religions as a device to stop people from questioning the illogical aspects of certain precepts.  “You don’t have to understand why [blank] is the way it is . . . you just have to have faith and you will be taken care of.  Um . . . no thanks.

I’m certain there are some people who would say that the faith I have in fate isn’t too different from the faith others have in their God(s), and they might be right.  This is a concept I’ve pondered a lot over the last few years, so you might see another blog from me on this topic, once I have some more answers that make sense to me.  Until then, I’m still of two minds on the subject.

How about you?  What’s your take on blind faith?  Are you in favor of, or against it?